Getting Things Done - GTD
5 Foolproof Actionable Steps to Ensure You Meet Project Deadlines
AUTHOR: David MillerAccording to a report published by Hive, 70% of the organizations have suffered at least one project failure in the prior 12 months. The common factor between the failure was found to be the inability to meet the deadlines. Strict project deadlines can be rather difficult to meet while maintaining the other requirements of the project. To ensure that you meet your project deadlines consistently, we’ve detailed 5 steps that will aid you in doing so.
Plan Ahead
PMI’s Pulse of Profession 2017 report states that the lack of clear goals is the most common factor that leads to the failure of a project. Acknowledging the same, there is an undeniable need to plan ahead. It is also recommended that you are aware of the coming processes and tasks. Knowing the schedules and objectives of your project can help you in planning for it ahead of time. This essentially means that setting milestones for the progression of the project can result in better time management.
Before the commencement of the project, an initial team meeting to set the aforementioned milestones is critical. The milestones that you set for your project are pivotal in deciding the success of your project. A study mentions that only 64% of projects meet their goals. The common success factor in these projects is the element of planning before each process.
This generally helps you in building an effective strategy for achieving your milestones. Ultimately, this action of planning ahead aids you in meeting your deadlines consistently.
Adopt the Agile Approach
Agile is regarded as a more efficient approach to project management. This is considering the fact that Agile projects are 28% more successful than traditional projects, as stated by PWC.
What Agile does is that it divides the project into several digestible parts referred to as ‘Sprints’. By going through these iterations in a procedural order, the overall efficiency of the project can be increased. Through the Agile approach, organizations can also see consistent ROIs after completion of each sprint. Reports are also generated after completion of every iteration. These represent the progress of the project.
Feedback is given by the stakeholders based on the generated reports. This can be used to improve the processes within the project further. The same will further lead to shortening delivery times and enabling you to meet deadlines constantly.
Hire the Right Individuals
A team comprising of members with an appropriate amount of skill and relevant knowledge is crucial for a project. After dividing the project, you should hire the individuals who’d be most efficient for each phase. It is suggested that you take your time choosing the relevant people. The right team can aid you in meeting any deadlines for the project.
Although, just choosing the right team isn’t all that you need. There is an additional need for promoting teamwork within the selected individuals. Assuming that the members are bonding well, the productivity of each process will increase. Encouraging the members to interact with each other is also going to improve their efficiency.
Given that all of that is achieved, members will be assisting each other in every task. Through perfect synchronization, you’ll notice that the project is meeting all of its deadlines. Maintaining a steady flow of information within the team members will also make the project more likely to succeed.
Choose the Right Tools
Another factor that aids you in meeting deadlines is having the right set of tools. A collaborative project management software allows you to communicate with team members easily. Project management tools also allow you to record the progress of the project. Additional to that, you can also efficiently assign tasks and track deadlines.
A few project management tools even allow you to divide your project into several achievable bits. This ensures that you can plan ahead efficiently to achieve the milestones within the project. Along the same, they are also ideal for tracking the allotted resource. Planning the expenditure of the resources ahead of time allows you to proceed without any hindrances. Smoothly proceeding through the process allows you to meet the deadlines in a project consistently.
The right set of tools can aid you to improve the efficiency and productivity of the overall project. This further leads you to constantly meeting the deadlines in a project.
Plan for the Unexpected
Risks are always there in a project. These risks, if not resolved in time, can have severe effects on the progress of the project. The consequences can lead you to not meeting deadlines on time. Before the commencement of the project, risks should be examined and recorded beforehand. After analyzing all the risk, effective measures should be taken. Although, it should be noted that even resolving actions can have their own risks.
Along with the risks, one should always account for the possibilities of exceeding the allotted resources. In such cases, the progress of the project can be obstructed. Therefore, it is recommended that before starting the project, one should consider quoting an extra amount of resources. The extra padding can aid you if the future needs of the project exceed the actual estimated amounts.
Assuming that one acknowledges the possibility of encountering the unexpected, they can proceed through the processes within a project smoothly. This further ensures that you aren’t obstructed by anything and hence, meet your deadlines regularly.
To Conclude
The above-mentioned steps ensure you meet project deadlines. The combination of all these steps allows you to achieve the deadlines consistently. Therefore, only following one of the above mentioned ways won’t assure you or your team that deadlines will be met. It is therefore recommended that you diligently follow all of the above-stated steps to meet the deadlines within a project.
No comments